Prosecutor: Governor's own words will impeach him

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s own words will provide the basis for removing him from office, impeachment prosecutor David Ellis told the Illinois Senate Monday.

Doug Finke

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s own words will provide the basis for removing him from office, impeachment prosecutor David Ellis told the Illinois Senate Monday.

The Senate will hear some of those words first-hand Tuesday, when recordings of some Blagojevich conversations secretly made by federal investigators are played for senators in the second day of the impeachment trial.

Ellis plans to play the recordings in conjunction with testimony from Daniel Cain, an FBI agent who was involved with making the recordings. Cain will be questioned about a 76-page affidavit he prepared about the recordings. The affidavit was made public in December, when federal agents arrested Blagojevich on federal corruption charges.

The most explosive of those recordings – in which Blagojevich allegedly tried to sell President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder – will not be heard by the Senate. However, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the Senate can listen to edited portions of four recordings in which Blagojevich apparently is trying to obtain a campaign contribution in exchange for signing a bill to help the horse racing industry.

“The governor traded official acts for campaign contributions,” Ellis said in his opening statement Monday. “We will ask you to convict Governor Blagojevich because of his own words, not those of anyone else. He treated his official powers as bargaining chips.”

As he had vowed, Blagojevich boycotted the start of his trial, saying the impeachment process is unfair because he can’t call witnesses he wants to question. Instead, he was in New York City, where he appeared on a series of national TV talk shows Monday, contending he is being railroaded and that the “fix” is in the Senate to remove him from office.

On ABC's "Good Morning America," Blagojevich also said he considered naming Oprah Winfrey to the U.S, Senate. Winfrey later told radio host Gayle King that she had no idea that she was under consideration. “I think I could be senator, I’m just not interested,” Winfrey said.

Ellis said rules governing the trial apply to both the prosecution and Blagojevich.

“There is one person who could come in here and refute any charges he is capable of refuting,” Ellis said. “The rules clearly permit him to be here and testify in his own defense.”

Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald is presiding over the trial and began the proceedings by telling senators that “this is solemn and serious business we are about to engage in.” When Fitzgerald called on Blagojevich or his representatives to ask questions or make statements, however, he was met with silence.

“We are not here to punish Governor Blagojevich,” Ellis said. “It is to protect the citizens of the state against the abuses of a public official. We will show you the governor repeatedly and utterly abused the privileges of his office. He is no longer fit to govern. He should be removed from office.”

Blagojevich is the first Illinois governor to be impeached.

The Illinois House has accused him of a pattern of abuse of power. Part of that pattern involves Blagojevich’s attempts to go around the General Assembly when it would not approve programs he wanted, like expanded health care. Blagojevich ordered the programs to expand anyway.

Others are outlined in secret recordings made by federal prosecutors looking into “pay-to-play” politics by the administration, one set of which senators will hear Tuesday. The General Assembly passed a bill giving the horse racing industry a portion of profits from lucrative riverboat casinos. Before signing the bill, Blagojevich was recorded discussing a possible campaign contribution from a lobbyist interested in having the bill signed.

Only one witness was called Monday. John Scully, a former federal prosecutor, testified about the difficulty investigators have in obtaining permission to wire-tap suspects. His testimony was designed to dispel the notion that wire-taps are easy to obtain by investigators on fishing expeditions.

Ellis said it won’t be necessary for him to call all 13 witnesses he initially wanted to testify. It is unclear how much that will speed up the trial, which currently is scheduled to run at least through Saturday.

Forty of the 59 senators must vote to convict Blagojevich before he will be removed from office.

Doug Finke can be reached at (217) 788-1527 or doug.finke@sj-r.com.

IMPEACHMENT WATCH

What happened Monday:

The Senate impeachment trial began with no sign of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who instead was on a media tour of New York. Illinois House prosecutor David Ellis presented a list of evidence and witnesses and made his opening arguments.

Quote of the Day:

“He is no longer fit to be governor. He should be removed from office.”
--Ellis, in his opening argument.

What’s happening Tuesday:

The Senate reconvenes at 10 a.m. to hear from FBI Special Agent Daniel Cain, who oversaw federal audiotapes that caught the governor allegedly committing several crimes. State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, could also testify about a plea agreement in a federal corruption case tied to the Blagojevich administration.

Follow Along:

The Senate impeachment trial can be followed via video and audio on the General Assembly’s Web site: www.ilga.gov. WUIS, the public radio station at the University of Illinois at Springfield, is broadcasting the trial on 91.9 and 89.3 FM, and audio streaming the proceedings via its Web site, wuis.org.

Taxpayers bear some costs of Blagojevich's trips

Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s media tour to the East Coast had some cost to Illinois taxpayers.

Blagojevich went to New York on Monday to appear on several national television shows, where he repeated claims that the state Senate is not giving him a chance to respond to impeachment charges.

Television network ABC paid for the trip and lodging for the governor and his security detail, Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero.

Taxpayers picked up the cost of salaries of the two Illinois State Police troopers in the detail, as they would no matter where the governor was, plus the flight cost for one trooper who flew out earlier to “check things out,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero did not know how much the trip cost.

Representatives of the shows Blagojevich appeared on, including “Good Morning America” and “The View,” say the governor was not paid an appearance fee.